Summer of Fear

by T. Jefferson Parker

Book Overview

When reporter/crime writer Russell Monroe finds his former lover brutally slain in an apparently ritual style, he suspects a connection to other recent murders in the county. Somehow, the case never... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0312093969
• ISBN13: 9780312093969
• Release Date: January 1993
• Publisher: Hyperion Books
• Length: 359 Pages
• Weight: 1.60 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 6.5" x 9.5"

Customer Reviews

Parker just keeps getting better!

I became a T. Jefferson Parker fan with Silent Joe, but I have to say this one is my favorite. A deep, complex, emotional mystery/thriller, with a real sense of danger. You will care deeply about the characters and will never guess the ending. I wish all writers who put so much into their plots would take a lesson from Parker--the more you care about the characters, the more you will care about what is happening!

Fear of caculated violence is not primary in this work

I read Parker's Silent Joe, and am now working my way back through his books. I would not recommend this book to someone looking for tight plotting and suspense in the unfolding of the looming threat of a serial killer, but for the myriad of conflicting emotions that surround adult relationships, this book gets all stars. Parker consistantly pedestals his female characters, even as he draws their more reprehensible characteristics, a predisposition I cannot understand. I find most provocative his protrayals of men, how they relate to one another, their views of family and their place in their worlds. Several intriguing characters were introduced in this book, and while I am content to let the story of Russ and Izzy rest, I would wish for follow ups on some of the secondary characters, Chet, Marty, Karen.

Summer of Fear by T. Jefferson Parker

I have read almost of all of T. Jefferson Parkers book, and he isone of the best authors around.THIS book was my favorite however, because there are two stories going on at once and they are both fascinating.The first is a crime writer who's wife if dying, literally wasting away in front of him, and the touching realistic way he is trying to deal with it.Then, there is a serial killer on the loose in So. CA (Orange County) which is a laid back beach community, and the serial killer begins communicating with the crime writer. Some serial killer books can be too grueling to read, and although I was glad I wasn't alone while reading this book, it was a good psychological thriller, and with the skill of a writer like T. Jefferson, this book was just hard to put down. Scary one minute, and then heart breaking in the next chapter.I'm hoping that this book will have some sort of sequel, at least with the crime writer coming back so we can see how his life is now, and his job is so interesting that there are many more story line possibilities.I'm an avid read, and mystery is my favorite genre, and T. Jefferson Parker just gets better and better the more he writes.I recommend you read any of his books, especially this one. The latest books with Merci Rayborne are great as is Silent Joe.I love the California beach background and all of his main characters; you feel as if you've met them and care about their life. He is a truly gifted writer, and if I recommend a writer to read it is definetly T. Jefferson Parker!Summer of Fear is for the truly hard core mystery fans, which I am, and the mixture of fear, pathos and also love, loss and closure, makes for a book that I didn't want to end.Thank you T. Jefferson Parker.

Parker is masterful at capturing hard-to-look-at emotions

Summer of Fear may not be the most carefully plotted suspense tale I've ever read, but I was riveted by the unblinking focus he placed on raw, difficult emotions. I've never before experienced a writer who more accurately portrayed the inner life of someone watching a loved one suffer a debilitating illness. When people rank a piece of fiction as "for adults only," we usually mean it contains sex and/or violence. This novel has both, but I would keep it away from children because the strong, ambivalent feelings of a tortured spouse are for grown-ups only. I'm a mystery and suspense fan, and I recognize the plot weaknesses in Summer of Fear, but I would recommend this novel to anyone who appreciates well-drawn characters. But be prepared to look at real life in all its conflicted, ugly, transcendent, messy glory.

Awesome Book

One of the best book I've ever read. In this mix of gut renching bloody edge of your seat terror, and a man on the edge of insanity facing the murders of the Midnight Eye, and his wife having cancer. Russell and Martin are blaming each other for the death of Alice Fultz, because whoever killed her framed it to look like another one of the gorey murders of the midnight eye. But if you read this book you will find out that they get a very big suprise. I would not recommend this book to children under 11, because of its explicit language.